A female rubab player is turning heads with her musical skills. The young musician reportedly from Hunza is making waves with her instrumental cover of ‘Zra Me Na Karar Dy Rasha Dilruba‘.
The young woman starts off solo and soon an adolescent man her age joins in on a hand drum. We can hear the crowd go wild in the background as they clap along to the tune.
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Unfortunately, we don’t know who this mystery musician is. All we do know is that Zra me Na Karar Dy Rasha Dilruba is a Pashtu classic and the rubab is a staple in Pakhtun music. However, the role of the instrument in Pakistan’s musical culture is much deeper.
The rubab is Asia’s take on the Arabian fiddle. The instrument made its way into South Asia via Central Asia and the string instrument has been wooing crowds with its sweet sound ever since.
Not Many Female Fiddlers
Since it’s a rubab is a fiddle, a traveling musician’s string instrument, historically there haven’t been many woman musicians known for their rubab skills.
However around a decade ago, then 15-year-old Semira Azadzoi made waves as the first female rubab player. The Afghan girl went viral with her performance at Bently University as part of a fundraiser for war-torn Afghanistan.
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However, a Sikh woman is actually the only globally renowned female rubab player. She actually plays a ‘Sikh rubab’ a rendition of the string instrument used by the founder of Sikhism, Bab Gurunanak. Jasvir Kaur was even awarded the MBE (Member British Empire) by the British Royal Family.
The Queen of England awarded Jasvit the MBE for services to faith, mental wellness through music therapy, and reviving traditional Sikh Music globally.
https://twitter.com/KaurGunjann/status/1273099550740361218
She even has a non-profit Kaur Voices to people heal through the power of music therapy.Â
We’d definitely like to know more about our own mystery musician. If you come across anything in the digital sphere or know more, please share information on who this spectacular rubab player is in the comment section.
